Reflections From God's Story of HopeSample

# Creation of Mankind Then God created a man and a woman, Adam and Eve, and commissioned them to rule over His earthly creation. [IMAGE CONTENT] But the sixth day was not over yet. God spoke again, this time to Himself. He said, “Let us make human beings—male and female—in our image, reflecting our nature and able to be responsible for the fish in Ocean, the birds in Sky, and the cattle and all the animals moving about on Earth.” So the eternal, self-existent, almighty God reached down and formed Man from the dirt of Earth; then He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. At that moment, Man came alive—a living soul! Then God planted a beautiful garden in the east with all kinds of trees and placed Man in the garden to care for it, to work the ground, and to keep it in order. God spoke again, saying, “It is not beneficial for Man to be alone. I will make him a helper, a companion. (Remember that God had already planned to make human beings—male and female.) So God brought all the animals He made to Man so that he could name them. Man gave names to all the animals and birds, but Man did not find a suitable companion for himself. So God put Man into a deep sleep. As he slept God removed one of Man’s ribs and closed up his flesh. Then God built the rib into a beautiful female and presented her to Man. The man said, “Finally! One who was made from my bone, Is there a being like me? She alone! Oh what shall I call this one at my hand? She shall be Woman; she was taken from Man.” The man and woman were totally at ease and comfortable with each other just as God had made them— au naturel. God placed these unique beings that uniquely reflected His nature in the garden and blessed them: “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for the fish in the sea and the birds in the air and every living thing that moves on the earth.” He continued, saying, “Look! I have given you every plant and the fruit of all the trees to eat and gain nourishment. All the animals shall also eat from all the plants that grow from the ground.” God saw to it that all was beneficial and worthwhile. And there it was, evening and morning—Day Six of creation.